Elaborate the policy taken by the Government of India to meet the challenges of the food processing sector.

The food processing sector links agriculture with industry, reduces post-harvest losses, adds value, generates employment and can raise farmers' incomes. Yet India processes only a small fraction of its produce and faces challenges of inadequate cold-chain infrastructure, fragmented supply chains, high wastage, poor market linkages and the dominance of unorganised micro-units.

Government policy responses

• Pradhan Mantri Kisan Sampada Yojana (PMKSY): an umbrella scheme funding Mega Food Parks, cold chains, agro-processing clusters and backward-forward linkages.
• PM Formalisation of Micro Food Processing Enterprises (PM-FME): credit-linked support to modernise unorganised micro-units on a 'One District One Product' basis.
• Production Linked Incentive (PLI) Scheme for Food Processing to build scale, brands and export capacity.
• Operation Greens: stabilising supply and prices of tomato, onion and potato, later extended to other perishables.
• 100% FDI under the automatic route, including in trading of food products manufactured in India.

Conclusion

Backed by a dedicated Ministry of Food Processing Industries, these measures aim to reduce wastage, strengthen farm-to-market links and boost value addition, thereby supporting the goal of enhancing farmers' incomes and rural employment.